Saw Revisited
by JuinWest
Summary: The overall fates of Adam and Lawrence depend on a highly selfish woman in Jigsaw's original game. Will she save them? Rewritten and redelivered, this is Saw Revisited. I assure you that the twists will astound you. Review and I will return the favor!
1. Common Hysterics

Note: Hello! This is my first fan fiction. If you might find any errors, or just have an opinion or idea for this story, I ask that you tell me! I encourage constructive criticism. Depending on how much free time I am given over the next few days, chapter two will be published soon. (:

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own these characters or half of this plot; James Wan and Leigh Whannell wrote the original Saw. Saw Revisited, however, is what I took away from Leigh's words, inventing my own ideas and joining those thoughts with his script. It's like we had mind sex and invented bloody, sadistic thriller literature. ;)

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><p><strong>Chapter I - Common Hysterics<strong>

The air is cold, hectic, but there is no breeze. The smallest of sounds echoes throughout the atmosphere and wherever this place is, it commits vibrations that are bare and concrete. Whispering sounds of water slopping against existence is heard by a hardly conscious woman whose eyes are not _au courant _but still dreaming. Soon the quiet splashes transform into a noisy wave and the woman hears an individual's heaves and splutters.

_What a strange dream_, she wonders.

As the woman dreams of reality, the man gasping for air soars up in a tub of water. Before long he realizes it's pitch-dark after he rubs his eyes. His foot snags on the tub's plug and the liquid drains as the man strains out and onto the floor. He retches violently and moans before his left foot catches and feels entrapped on heavy, rough material as he crawls forward. Unbeknownst to him, there is a second man in the room who is listening with a composed silence.

"Help! Someone help me!" the first man rises and yelps. He begins to feel the space around and behind him and ends when his hand comes in contact with a pipe. "Oh shit. What's going on?" he feels inferior and small when unexpectedly he hears a chain drag on the ground in the distance. "Is someone there? Hey!" he cries, "Shit, I think I'm dead."

"You're not dead," a hoarse voice speaks out into the abyss.

"Who's that? Turn on the lights!" the other demands before yelling for help in desperation once more.

The man who is listening becomes irritated and tells this panicked voice there isn't a point in yelling because he already tried.

"Where am I? What the fuck is going on?" the first man turns away and starts feeling around again, but for a light switch. "Oh god, what is that smell?"

"Be quiet a moment! I think I found something," the distant voice announces before hearing his company freeze.

There is a loud click before buzzing, bright lights illuminate the room, blinding two men. There is a blonde man, wearing black slacks and light blue dress shirt that is stained with sweat, who is removing his hand from the light switch he found. Middle-aged and ghastly gray, the man is chained to a pipe by his right ankle and his eyes, which are straining to adapt to the sudden light, have purple bags underneath them.

Across from this character is a younger man, in his mid-twenties with wet, dark brown hair, who is wearing a blue striped shirt over another white one and jeans. His clothes show he's been immersed in water while he looks like a shocked, drowned animal. This man's left foot is chained to another pipe in the corner. Holding his arm above his head, he squints in pain as his eyes slowly adjust to the light.

A freshly dead body in it's pool of blood lies in the middle of an abandoned bathroom. The dripping wet man gazes around at filthy, chipped walls, ancient urinals and a toilet, a rusted bathtub, and behind him on the other side of the tub lounges a sleeping woman, who is also bound to a pipe in the opposite corner by her left foot. Unlike his conscious company, he is in reach of her and moves towards the woman but stops abruptly as the dragging weight that is trapping him catches his attention once more.

"Help!" the man begins to howl and pull on his chain.

He falls onto the floor in his panic and the fairer man looks at him with an appalled expression. The blonde feels embarrassed for the man's outburst, that no matter how horrifying a situation is, an individual should always remain calm and work objectively out of problems. He begins to suggest to himself that he is above this man's behavior and wonders more about the woman beside the fool.

"Calm down. Just calm down. Are you hurt?" he says while eyeing the man's drenched clothes.

"I don't know," the man looks down with arms stretched out. "Yea!"

"What's your name?"

"My name is Very Fucking Confused!" After sarcastically proclaiming his feelings, he demands, "What's your name? What's going on here?"

"My name is Lawrence Gordon, I'm a doctor. I woke up here just like you," the blonde explains covering his mouth and nose to block out the corpses' stench. "Do you know who she is?"

The water-soaked man looks down at the sleeping woman's face and replies with a shake of his head. He gradually sits and than to himself he mutters, "What the fuck is this?"

Lawrence rolls his eyes while watching the man slaving with the cuff that's around his ankle and asks, "Recognize that guy?"

"No."

"Well do you have any idea how you got here?"

"No."

"What was the last thing you remember?" Lawrence is developing impatience because his company is only giving him simple answers to his questions, and acting like a juvenile.

"Nothing," the man stops struggling at his chain for a moment. "I went to bed in my shit-hole apartment and woke up in actual shit-hole! What about you?" he lets his hand smack against the floor when he looks up at the doctor.

Grateful the man gave up his attempts at self-release, Lawrence finally thinks for a moment and replies, "There's not much to tell, really. I was on my way home from work and uh, I don't remember anything else."

Lawrence slowly sits down on the filthy floor. The man across from him is growing calmer and Lawrence's annoyance is subsiding. He observes the man's face as his panic turns into fear. He notices the man's eyes widening the longer they study the body between them.

"That's the first dead body I've ever seen. They look different in real life, they don't move," the man admits.

Lawrence looks at his chain and adjusts it; the metal is pushing into his skin and causing pain. He's silent for a moment longer than says, "Well from the looks of these chains, someone didn't want us to go very far either. So, you going to tell me your name or what?"

The man forgets the body and studies Lawrence before replying simply, "Adam."

"Well, Adam, what we need to do is sta-" but Lawrence is cut short and his suggestion is overwhelmed by deafening screams of fear and shock.

The woman who was sleeping had finally woken. She is staring at the dead body, screeching with only eyes for the corpse. Lawrence thought Adam was ridiculous, but changes his mind deciding that this woman outshone Adam's hysterics.

"Hey, it's okay!" Adam shouts over her screams while moving towards the woman.

She glimpses at Adam and her instincts decide he is a threat. When Adam offers to help her up, the woman kicks him in the stomach than whacks him in the face when he doubles over. As he falls to the ground she jolts up and only begins to run away from him, before soon stumbling with a yelp to the floor thanks to the chain around her ankle. She doesn't look around but brings her attention back to Adam who is standing back up dazed. She jumps up with a terrified look and slams her fist into his stomach again.

As Adam cries out Lawrence raises his voice at the woman, "We're not going to hurt you! Please stop!"

The woman becomes distracted, noticing Lawrence for the first time. Adam takes this chance to bound onto her back and pin her shoulders down as she falls onto the filthy floor. Though she is still attempting to claw at him while on her stomach, Adam wrestles her to be still.

Lawrence rolls his eyes as he watches chaos and asks Fate what he did to deserve this mess. He wishes he knew why he was here and why he was here with two fools.

"What are you doing?" he asks Adam.

The woman remembers Lawrence and screams, causing Adam to become more angry. He is furious that she punched him and by God was she only to attack him again, so he feels the need to restrain the woman down until him and Lawrence compose her.

"Just calm her down before she attacks me again!" Adam shouts as the woman screams at him to move away, than biting a finger that held her shoulder.

"We woke up here the same as you! Please calm down, ma'am! We are all in the same situation you are! Look, we're chained to the walls as well," Lawrence tries to shout over her screams of help and Adam's surprised cry of pain. "Just listen!"

The woman stops shrieking when Lawrence catches her attention by getting on his knees and pointing to his chain. She is terrified and Adam isn't helping by his actions. When she woke she only noticed the dead body in the room and Adam advancing towards her. She thought he murdered the decaying man in the middle of the room and was going to execute her too. The woman's natural reaction was to hurt the bad guy before the bad guy hurt her. Realizing she was wrong, she calms down a bit and listens to the blonde man who now stands.

"We need to work together if we are to get out of here. My name is Doctor Lawrence Gordon, that man is Adam, and we just woke up here the same as you. We don't know what's going on either," Lawrence explains from the other side of the bathroom. "Adam, get off of her for Christ's sakes!"

Adam is still forcing her shoulders into the floor and only Lawrence can see how angry he is. He has an expression of uncontrolled fury and what Lawrence believes is also embarrassment.

"Will you not attack me again?" he exclaims as the woman rolls her eyes and fails to push him off.

"Let me up!" she screams.

"Adam! You're being ridiculous," Lawrence acts put out and than nods at the woman.

"Fine," she says. "_Okay? _Now get off!"

Lawrence stares at Adam with a look that clearly says he is overreacting. Adam notices Lawrence's expression and glares away from the woman. He gazes around the room and sits down on a pipe, turning his attention back to the woman who is now sitting up on her knees, studying the bathroom she just woke up in.

Her hair is brown, almost red, and it flows down to her waist in waves. She has a few tangles that Adam subconsciously wants to brush away, but he doesn't notice that urge. There is dirt and blood on her white, straight-legged pants and the woman wipes her tears away with the sleeve of an ivory, lace pullover that barely hides a peach tank underneath. Her feet are bare like his and Lawrence's. He averts his eyes to her face and his mouth falls open; all anger is being replaced with recognition. She looks familiar to him, though he doesn't know her and has never met her.

Adam blushes even though she isn't paying attention to him and looks questioningly across at Lawrence. Lawrence studies the woman as well but isn't paying attention to her hair or clothing. He is wondering why her left forearm is bandaged with white gauze and why it is stained with fresh blood.

"What happened to your wrist?" Lawrence asks softly.

The woman doesn't bother looking down at her arm.

"I don't know. I was hoping you two could tell me. You said you were a doctor. Did you do this?" the woman spits.

But her statement was weak and Adam notices her wavering tone. He doesn't believe her.

"No, I did not! I already told you we woke up here just the same," Lawrence feels insulted and thinks that even though the circumstances are odd, if not scary, he should still be treated with more respect.

"Wait, so you really don't know what's going on?" she shrieks.

Lawrence and Adam shake their heads and the woman begins yanking at the pipe that her chain is connected to. She yells as she pulls at the cuff around her ankle, "Help! Can anyone hear me? Help!"

"Please calm down! We need to stay calm if we're to get out of here!" Lawrence tries to relax her.

"God, kill me now," Adam shakes his head anxiously with sarcasm and worry.

"Go to hell when he does!" she defends herself, jerking the chain. All of sudden she stops and seizes her wrist, crying out.

"Do you want me to take a look at that?" Lawrence shuffles as close as the chain allows and squints over.

"It really fucking hurts," the woman replies, close to tears now. "I don't know if I want to mess with it."

Suddenly Adam is convinced of an idea. He stands up hastily and pulls up his shirt, revealing his abdomen and touching his stomach, studying it.

"Do you see any scars?"

"What?" Lawrence and Nadia ask in unison and in disbelief.

"This is what they do, man! They kidnap you and drug you and before you know it, you're in a bathtub and your kidneys are on eBay."

"That's ridiculous," Nadia sneers.

Lawrence scoffs, "No one has taken your kidneys."

"How can you tell from way over there?"

"Because you'd either be in terrible agony. Or you'd be dead by now."

Adam stops examining his stomach and looks across at Lawrence. The woman hangs her shoulders and begins to weep subtly after she sits in the corner opposite of Adam. He watches with a growing sympathy, feeling lousy for their initial behavior towards one another as she touches her wrist tenderly. He shifts his gaze over to Lawrence whose face confirms that he really is a doctor. Lawrence's expression is empty and objective.

"What's your name?" Adam asks the woman while she takes in the dead body in a calm shock.

"Nadia," she returns her eyes over to Adam, and he softens inwardly again; they are a light brown, blinking with the remains of tears.

"Do you remember how you got here?" Lawrence asks.

"No, I don't remember a thing. I don't even know what I did last night."

"Well, what we need to do is figure out why we're here," Lawrence leans on his hand that's outstretched against the pipe on the wall. "Whoever brought us here could have killed us by now. But they didn't. They must want something from us, and the question is what."

Adam regards Lawrence as the doctor searches the ground for clues. Nadia looks up from where she sits and notices something odd.

"That clock."

"Yea, what about it?" Adam asks.

"It's brand new," she glances over at him.

Lawrence realizes what she is implying, "Someone wanted us to know the time."

Adam looks perplexed still and Nadia scoffs in amazement.

"Hang on, I might be able to reach the door," Lawrence shuffles as far as his chain will allow and pushes against a wooden sliding door.

Across the room, Adam's confusion turns into deep thought when he reaches into his front pockets, finding nothing. Nadia watches him as he digs in his back pocket and pulls out a white envelope wrapped in a plastic bag.

"What is that?" Nadia sounds hopeful.

Lawrence turns around, failing to open the door and realizes what Nadia was asking about. Adam removes the envelope from the plastic bag and looks at his name penned on the paper.

"Excuse us," Lawrence is anxious.

"It's an envelope, with my name on it," Adam's answer sounds questioned, his expression unsure of what he's seeing.

"Where did you find it?" Lawrence is anxious.

"My pocket."

Lawrence and Nadia exchange looks and begin digging in their pockets as well, searching for answers. Within seconds the two of them are holding envelopes too and on the envelopes, written in black, bold letters, are their names screaming back at them. Nadia looks into the shocked faces of her peers, as they gaze back into the worried face of her own.

"Where in hell is this happening?"

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><p><span>Note<span>: Review please! (:


	2. The Game Begins

Note: I edited the first chapter slightly, so I recommend you to refresh your memory and take a look. The changes aren't drastic, but a few details have been twisted. Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter II - The Game Begins<strong>

"It says play me," Adam opens his envelope to find only a tape.

Lawrence rips apart the paper and clears it's contents into the palm of his hand. He holds up an identical cassette like Adam's that also says 'play me', next a small bullet and wonders what it could be for. Adam gets optimistic when he regards the tiny key Lawrence possesses before long. With a small stir of hope, Lawrence bends down with the key and attempts to unlock his chains.

Meanwhile Nadia waits for Lawrence to seize Adam's attention fully. Once Adam is absorbed in Lawrence's tries with the key, she subtly tears apart her envelope and blinks inside. She glances at a similar tape and another item she can't recognize unless she removes it from the envelope. She decides against it and carefully slides only the tape out. At once, she sets the envelope and it's contents away from Adam's view. Nadia knows not what's going on. However, if she learns more than her company she believes she will have a greater chance for survival against their abductors. Nadia prefers to have the upper hand, thinks every aspect she gathers that Adam and Lawrence don't learn, is worth keeping to herself.

"Throw it over here!" Adam holds his arms out, motioning to Lawrence to throw the key to him when Lawrence's efforts are ineffective.

Lawrence gives Adam a mistrustful look before he hurls the key across the room anyway. Adam misses the catch when it hits the floor in front of him, curses, and than bends down to pick it up. When he tries to put the key in the lock that secures his ankle, it's useless. He turns around in panic and moves to unlock the opposite end of the chain connected to the pipe. He gives up and drops the key in frustration a few feet beside Nadia as he sits down, defeated.

"See if it fits," Adam suggests to the woman.

"There's no point. That key is too small for these kind of locks," Nadia observes as Adam studies his tape. "If you tried though, you could probably reach that cassette player in front of you."

Lawrence and Adam search around the room with fresh alert until their eyes set on a tape player in the dead man's hand. In his other fist, though, is a gun. When Lawrence realizes this he looks at the bullet he was given and imagines himself shooting his chain apart to get free.

"When did you notice that?" Adam's eyes are wide.

Nadia regards Adam and smiles, "When you pinned me down, asshole."

Adam ignores her reply, crawls as far as the chain will allow, and stretches out onto the floor with his hand reaching out. Unfortunately, there is still a few feet between him and the body. He sits back up in failure.

"Use your shirt," Lawrence suggests.

"No, that won't work. His shirt isn't heavy enough to drag something with it," Nadia looks around the bathroom and eventually bends over the bathtub beside her and Adam. She pulls out the tub's plug that is attached to a cord and holds it out to him, "Here. Try it with this."

Adam looks at her outstretched hand and than into her face when he takes the cord. The feeling of recognition creeps up into him again, but he ignores it for the moment with the desire of hearing what their tapes explain.

Adam takes off his shirt, revealing a white tee underneath, and ties the cord around a sleeve. Kneeling down, he aims the plug and tosses it.

"Come on, come on, again," Lawrence urges Adam to continue when he misses.

Eventually, after two more times, Adam soars the plug through the cassette player's string handle and slowly drags the cord back to him. The player is gently released from the dead man's grip and within seconds Adam is placing his tape into the player. He looks at an eager Lawrence and than gazes at Nadia's anxious expression. He feels frightened and presses the play button with a queasy determination. As Adam holds the player up closer to his tilted head, a quiet static sounds through the room, and than an eerie voice.

"Hello, Adam. Today I am giving you the key to overcome your anger. Until now you have hurt the ones closest to you. Refusing the help and love of your friends, you exist only to sit in the shadows with a bottled fury that you, eventually, unleash on others. How angry does it make you feel to learn that you've got to depend on the people in this room to get out alive? If by six o'clock you have a better appreciation for the lives of others, you will be set free. So are you going to let your emotions get the better of you today, Adam? Or do something about it?"

Adam doesn't move when the chilling, deep voice stops speaking. "I don't get it," he eventually presses the stop button and looks up.

"Throw me the player," Lawrence gestures.

"Wait a minute," Nadia shuffles to Adam and snatches the player from him as Lawrence huffs.

She doesn't want them to hear what her tape says, but realizes it's inevitable if she listens to it. Opening the player and tossing Adam's cassette aside, she closes her tape inside and presses play. She doesn't look up, but only closes her eyes away from Adam and Lawrence when the sinister voice returns.

"Throughout your life, Nadia, you have let your depression control your decisions. You care only about yourself, even when the needs of others are greater than yours. Though you are a healthy, talented woman, you tried to kill yourself last week. Why is that? …You are selfish. Today, I will help you where medications could not. Adam's and Doctor Gordon's lives depend on you. There is a key hidden in this room that will unlock their chains. You must find the key by six o'clock and free them, also allowing you the chance to survive. If you do not, their fates will become your's. Remember, Nadia, the key to self-sacrifice and love lies within you. And by the way, the key you must recover will not unlock your chain. Will you save their lives, or end your's just as well?"

Nadia opens her eyes to see Adam and Lawrence staring at her. The weight of the light player is heavy in her hands and her throbbing wrist is screaming her attention when Adam speaks.

"You tried to kill yourself?" Adam looks at her forearm.

Nadia remembers Lawrence and ignores Adam, "Throw me your tape."

Lawrence doesn't trust her and when he speaks it shows, "Look, we're going to have to work together if we want out to get out of here. Just throw me the player."

"I'm not going to risk breaking it! You throw me your tape!"

Lawrence pauses, wishing he could say how irritated he felt towards her but thought better of it, and tosses his tape towards Nadia. It hit's the floor behind her and she sits down to pick it up before popping it in the player. The same deep voice vibrates once more.

"Doctor Gordon, this is your wake up call. Every day of your working life, you have given people the news that they are going to die soon. Now you will be the cause of death. Your aim in this is to kill Adam. You have until six on the clock to do it. There's a man in this room with you. When there's that much poison in your blood, the only thing left to do is shoot yourself. There are ways to win this hidden all around you. Just remember: X marks the spot for the treasure. If you do not kill Adam by six o'clock or before Nadia frees him, then Alison and Diana will die, Dr. Gordon. And I'll leave you in this room to rot. Let the game begin."

When the tape ends, Lawrence stands up and speaks firmly, "Give me that. Now!"

Nadia isn't listening, though. She is staring at the player when suddenly she blurts out, "What the fuck does all of this even mean? None of the tapes explained how _I_ can get out of this!" Nadia is hysterical and when Lawrence demands the player again she continues, "He knows us! This has to be a joke, right? I don't underst-"

Adam cuts her off by grabbing the player from her hands and tossing it to Lawrence who catches it easily with a sigh. He turns back to Nadia and glares.

"What?" she asks him.

"All you care about is yourself," Adam's distress turns to hatred.

Although he won't admit it, he's weary of his constant temper. Yet knowing of little else, he is unknowingly comfortable in his anger and waits for Nadia to retaliate that'll spark the fire of conflict.

Nadia is silent for a short moment, content with scowling at Adam before turning away. She watches Lawrence rewinding his tape.

"Is that what happened to your wrist? Was that voice telling the truth?" Adam asks softly, calming down.

Nadia's jaw drops, "You don't know what you're talking about!"

She does not meet his gaze. He is right nonetheless, and she hates him for it.

A week ago, a friend walked in on Nadia in her apartment, sitting calmly on the living room couch with a vertical, deep cut on her wrist. Nadia has had a natural depression since childhood. Even though she had an average, loving family, the regular angsty and fun friends, and good health along with everything she desired, she was comfortable only in depression and melancholy. Some days, what she believed were the saddest details of her life, would set Nadia off. So last week she lost all common bravery and couldn't handle the depression. Her friend took her to the emergency room against Nadia's protests but failed to admit her into the city's behavioral unit. Nadia was a good actor and smiled her way through the questioning. She claimed she was only cutting herself for the release, but cut too deep this time. She claimed she was scared, and glad that her friend saved her because she wasn't suicidal. Nadia was able to return home the same night. She promised herself as she left the hospital that she would attempt suicide again, but with locked doors this time.

Nadia realizes now, as she is chained to a pipe in an industrial bathroom, that she does not want to die. It took being threatened for her to understand this, and she will do anything to save herself.

"I was just asking!" Adam's voice rises.

"Shhhh! Be quiet!" Lawrence brings them out of their argument. He is rewinding the player again in his hands, "Listen."

Adam and Nadia turn their ears towards Lawrence as he presses the play button and they listen to the menacing voice once again.

"Let the game begin," it repeats. Than, in a very hushed tone, the person speaking whispers, "Follow your heart."

Adam's panic has resurfaced slightly, "What does 'follow your heart' mean?"

Lawrence starts looking around franticly at the walls and across the bathroom. Within seconds he spots a small, brown drawing of a heart on the toilet.

"There! Right next to you, on the toilet."

Adam looks to where Lawrence is pointing and bends down, resting his hands on the seat. He stares down into the bowl and finds what looks like a brown, liquid mess before looking back up at Lawrence disgusted.

"You've got to be kidding me?"

Lawrence rolls his eyes and his tone shows agitation, "Come on, come on."

"Oh man," Adam begins to gag with his face turned away from the bowl as he reaches into the waste. After a moment of searching he suddenly pulls away, shaking off the excrement stuck to his hand while he spits.

"Anything?" Lawrence asks expectantly.

"No solids."

Nadia chuckles, "Obviously you should have taken off the lid first."

Adam feels a very strong urge to drown her in the liquid shit, but ignores her comment when he lifts the lid off the toilet and places it on the seat. He discovers inside a tied, black garbage bag in clear water. He reaches in, washes his hand thankfully, and pulls out the bag.

"I really wish I had checked in there first," Adam glares at Lawrence, considering the doctor should have suggested it before he wasted his hand in the toilet bowl.

"Huh. What is it?" Lawrence smiles slightly.

Adam places the bag between his legs and tears into it. He carefully looks inside and partly pulls out two hacksaws before marking his company's reactions. He pulls out only one saw, placing the bag beside himself and kneeling down to carve through his chain.

Nadia rolls her eyes and, after glimpsing at Lawrence who nods, she bends down towards the garbage bag and takes hold of the other saw. Without warning before she pulls it out, Adam stops what he's doing to turn around and slam his hand down on the bag and it's contents.

"What the fuck, Adam?" Nadia jumps.

She doesn't understand what reason he has to keep her from trying to saw through her chain as well. She scoffs at him before she proceeds to tug the saw out of the plastic sack.

Adam stares back at her while keeping his hand on the bag, but let's her take the hacksaw. Disregarding the circumstances, he studies her face once more and recognition creeps into him when she stares back. He imagines to himself how he would know her, but no answer comes to mind.

Lawrence watches them with a puzzled and annoyed expression. Adam's suspicious behavior is confusing him and Nadia, but they dismiss it when he speaks.

"Wouldn't want you to… cut yourself," Adam doesn't say it in an mocking or angry tone, but like he's defending himself. He still meant for it to be an insult so he could cover up his initial reaction, and feels lousy when Nadia's face breaks.

"You don't know what you're talking about," she repeats in her breath.

Nadia turns around and strives to saw through her chain, listening to Adam's continued struggles as well. She smiles softly when she hears his hacksaw break before his enraged curses. Her smile disappears just as quickly, however, when above her head Adam hurls his saw violently. She swears at him as pieces shatter off of a mirror on the wall a few feet away from her.

Lawrence rolls his eyes. He wonders how much longer he can stand their behavior as he grows more and more impatient. Adam's breathing is heavy and Nadia gives up sawing through her chain.

"Excuse me," Lawrence spoke. "Mind passing me that?"

Nadia looks at the saw in her hands than flings it towards the doctor. Adam watches Nadia as she is eagerly preoccupied with Lawrence trying to cut through his chain. He moves back over to the garbage bag, tosses it into his corner where it won't draw back their attention, and sits down partially in front of it. He isn't obvious and his company does not notice.

Lawrence eventually gives up and Nadia sighs. She sit's the farthest she can from Adam and leans her head on her knees where Adam and Lawrence can't see her face. She lets only a few tears fall as she thinks about how messed up their situation is. She wonders why these men's lives depend on her, but she doesn't know how to help.

Her concern for them is soon forgotten when her wrist undertakes pain, as it had done the past week. She's gotten used to it but curses herself anyway. She lets more tears slide as she reflects on her attempted mutilation.

_Maybe if I never tried to kill myself I'd be at home right now, _Nadia wonders about alternate universes.

Adam glances at Nadia's trembling shoulders and feels a small regret for his behavior towards her. He sways that thought from his head, remembering her insults, and glances at Lawrence. Lawrence looks back across the room, his eyes widening.

"What?" Adam asks him.

"He doesn't want us to cut through our chains," a look of dawning flashes across Lawrence's face. "He wants us to cut through our feet. I think I may know who's done this to us."

Nadia is suddenly brought out of her deep thought, her wet face looks up, and stares across the room with red eyes.

"What did you say?" she demanded.

Lawrence looks at Nadia defensively, "It's not someone I know personally. It's someone I know of."

Adam assumes Lawrence has been hiding something and frantically says, "Jesus Christ! Tell us, who is it?"

Lawrence shakes his head, "The last I heard… the police still hadn't caught him."

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><p><span>Note<span>: Review and chapter three will be published in no time! ;)

Thank you for reading!


	3. I'm On Trial

Note: At last, I've completed chapter three! By the way, Adam and Nadia will act sweeter to each other, eventually, but not quite yet. ;)

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><p><strong>Chapter III: I'm On Trial<strong>

"And the only reason I know that is because I was a suspect. I'll have to start from the beginning," Lawrence reveals, resting against the pipeline in the corner.

Adam and Nadia exchange glances and listen silently to Lawrence.

"The newspapers started calling him the Jigsaw Killer, because he would cut wounds the shape of a puzzle piece out of his dead victims. Actually, technically speaking, he's not really a murderer. He never killed anyone. He finds ways for his victims to kill themselves."

Lawrence reminisces, thinking back to how he first met the detectives, Tapp and Sing, and when they first began to suspect him.

_Doctor Gordon was explaining to three medical students the condition of a patient who was lying on a bed before them. They looked at him in admiration as he described the tumor in the patient's head. Doctor Gordon pointed with a pen to an x-ray and smiled smugly when he glanced back at them. A young, beautiful Asian woman was smiling with obvious infatuation when he regarded the students. Doctor Gordon returned the grin._

"_The patient ha-" Lawrence began._

"_His name is John, Doctor Gordon," an orderly with brown hair stopped pushing a cart once beside the door, and smiled with kindness, and something else unknown, towards the sleeping patient. "He's a very interesting person."_

_Doctor Gordon lacked caring in his voice, "Thank you for that information, Zep." He turned to his idolizing students, "As you can see, our orderlies form very special bonds with the patients."_

_Zep stared at Doctor Gordon with loathing before he turned away and continued to push the cart down the hall._

"_Continuing on, the patient ha-" but Doctor Gordon was cut off again, this time by the intercom._

"_Doctor Gordon, Doctor Lawrence Gordon, please page the operator."_

"_Obviously someone doesn't want me to tell you what the patient has. Excuse me," he stepped around the amatory students and left the room._

_Inside his office, he was met with two detectives who suspected him of a crime. At first Doctor Gordon didn't know what to think of it, but when they confronted him with evidence that belonged to him, he was taken to the police station. There the doctor's lawyer explained to him the enormity of the situation and persuaded Doctor Gordon to tell him where he was at the time the crime was enacted. Doctor Gordon's alibi was proved honest, eventually, and he was able to go home. Yet, the police asked him of one other favor._

"_We have one of the victims who managed to escape. Wanted to know if you wouldn't mind sticking around and listening to her testimony? Maybe it'll trigger something," an Asian detective by the name of Sing asked._

_Doctor Gordon didn't really care, "I'd like to help, really, but-"_

"_Well, we'd really appreciate it. She's the only one who made it," Sing had interrupted._

_Sing turned his attention to the interrogation room next to them, where a young woman with a brown ponytail, and the detective Tapp, who besides Sing brought Doctor Gordon to the station, had sat. Doctor Gordon looked as well. Though the woman and Tapp could not see them, Doctor Gordon and Sing listened to her story through the glass._

"_Amanda, in your own time, tell me the first thing you remember," Tapp asked the woman gently._

_She shook slightly and began, "I woke up. All I could taste was blood. And metal. There was a heavy, bear-trap like device around my head and my wrists were tied to the chair I sat in. The room's lighting was lime-green, it was cold, across from me was an old television set."_

_Amanda took a breath. Tapp had put his hand on her shoulder and urged her to go on. In the other room, Doctor Gordon felt uncomfortable, and wondered why this person who trapped Amanda would set him up. _

"_The puppet on the television screen told me that he knew me and that he wanted to play a game. He said that the locked device around my head would set off like a reverse bear-trap if I didn't find the key in sixty seconds. He said it was in the stomach of my dead cellmate. The television turned off and when I struggled out of the chair, the timer to my device went off. And then I saw the body."_

_Doctor Gordon is interested in her story now, and leaned closer to the glass. Sing's mouth was open with horror as they listened to Amanda continue._

"_There was a knife, and I… I ripped him open until I found the key. I unlocked it at the last minute before the puppet came into the room and told me that I should be grateful for the life I'm given."_

_Sing had placed a syringe, that was already in an evidence bag, on the table and explained it to Doctor Gordon._

"_He'd been injected with an opiate overdose. He couldn't move or feel much of anything."_

_Doctor Gordon was shocked, "You mean he was alive?"_

"_Was," Sing nodded._

_Tapp asked Amanda, "You are in fact a drug addict. Isn't that right, Mandy? Do you think that is why he picked you?"_

_Amanda had let out a sob and nodded._

"_Are you grateful, Mandy?"_

_She raised her head for the first time and looked into Tapp's eyes, "He… He helped me."_

_Tapp looked over into Doctor Gordon's room right into his direction. Though he couldn't see him, he knew he was there. Doctor Gordon was frightened that this killer knew him, and he had hoped to God he didn't meet the man that Amanda had met._

"They let me go finally and didn't think I was a suspect anymore. I was nervous after that day though, because the detective Sing concluded that the killer might be a patient of mine. How else would they have my pen?" Lawrence finishes.

"Are you sure it's him?" Adam looks up from the floor and asks softly.

"Yea, I'm sure."

Adam becomes hysterical and stands, "How do I know you're telling the truth? You could be apart of this!"

"Adam, he's in the same position we're in," feeling vulnerable beside Adam's shadow, Nadia jumps up as well.

"I don't know that. He's got information, and you! Apparently, _you're _the one with the key! Where is it?"

"How am I supposed to know? We're still here!" Nadia raises her voice.

"Just calm down! Both of you," Lawrence stands. "We need to think

together, think about what the tapes say. This guy doesn't just pick random people, he has reasons and usually those reasons are faults his victims have. He wants us to overcome our faults and play his game by his rules."

Nadia gives him an apprehensive look before he continues.

"That's just what the tapes said," Lawrence throws in. "They also said that you were the only one who could find the key. Do you have any ideas?"

"No, none at all," Nadia frowns.

"Has anything happened the past couple weeks? Anything out of the ordinary?"

"No, nothing. Well, besides…"

"What?" Adam is confident she has a lead.

"It's nothing," Nadia gets uncomfortable.

Adam's face drops and his hope fades, "Just your accident?" Nadia looks perplexed so Adam blurts out, "Suicide attempt?"

Nadia glares at him, embarrassed, "That's the only thing, but it has nothing to do with me finding a key, damnit!"

She tries to hide the bandage on her wrist and arm, feeling ashamed, but it's still, unnaturally, tender so she let's go. She glances at Lawrence, who nods and smiles slightly as he focuses down, and than she peers back at Adam. He's shaking slightly from his damp clothes that have only dried somewhat.

"What about you? Your tape said you had to kill Adam by six o'clock," She's speaking to Lawrence and notes up at the time. "It's almost three."

Adam returns Nadia's stare with unbelieving eyes and than watches Lawrence, jaw hung open. Lawrence feels weary and sighs.

"I'm not going to kill a man if that's what you're asking."

"I would hope not!" Adam chimes in.

Lawrence gives Adam a look that tells him to shut up. Adam closes his mouth, too furious to reply, and crosses his arms against his chest, shivering.

"Look, obviously we depend on you, Nadia. If you think of anything, even if it's a small detail, please don't keep it to yourself. Three heads are better than one," Lawrence smiles softly.

At first, she didn't care. But analyzing it, if the two men are free they can call the police and free her too. Nadia thinks tediously, but she can't come up with an answer. Feeling hopeless, she slides down, leaning against the bath tub, and stares at nothing in particular.

Lawrence glances at the clock and sits down as well. He remembers what his tape asked of him; that if he doesn't murder Adam, his family will die instead. He ponders this, battling decisions and ideas. Lawrence asks himself silently if he would be able to kill Adam. Soon enough, he starts wondering how.

Watching everyone else settle down, Adam moves to the horizontal pipe in the corner and takes a seat on it. The air is calmer and quiet, except for the buzzing of the fluorescents above. Suddenly his stomach growls and Adam makes a look. He thinks about how he'd saw off his foot for some junk food and a premium cigarette and bows his head into hands. He smiles softly in dark humor, realizing that sawing off his foot is a realistic option.

The silence is making Nadia nervous. She begins to feel nauseas as the bathroom's filthy, white walls act like they're shrinking. She panics inwardly at the growing claustrophobia. Nadia isn't afraid of small, closed spaces and can only think of feeling claustrophobic once before.

She was in an elevator with her mother, soaring up towards the twenty-seventh floor where her father's work office had remained. Half a minute in the elevator passed and before long she had begun to feel distress. Her mother recognized the symptoms and advised her to sing. Nadia sung a favorite lullaby with her mother and all panic disappeared. Remembering that day, Nadia closes her eyes and uses her mother's advice once more.

"_Like an ancient day, and I'm on trial,_" she whispers a song. "_Let them seize the way, this once was an island…_"

All at once, as he becomes aware of the woman carrying a tune, Adam feels that acknowledgement once more. He's convinced he's heard her sing in the past, but doesn't know from where or when. He assumes maybe a buddy in a band is a mutual friend of their's. None the less, he confronts her this time.

"_And I could not stay for I, belie-_"

"Hey! HEY!" Adam catches her attention.

"What?" Nadia is bewildered and taken back.

"You! I keep feeling like I know you, and I have a damn good feeling you know me!" Adam barks at her while she speculates if he's schizophrenic. "Who are you? Do you know me?"

"No, what the hell? I've never met you before. Stop yelling at me! What's wrong with you?" she tenses up and starts to feel irritable, as well as hurt. She ponders that maybe he knows something, instead.

"Look, Adam, maybe she looks like someone you know or-" Lawrence begins.

"No, it's her voice and her face and hair! I've seen her before!" he turns to Nadia. "You could be the one who put me in this room!"

Nadia's jaw drops and she cries back. Adam bends down and picks up glass, a fragment of shattered mirror he smashed earlier from throwing the snapped saw.

"Now you tell me what is really going on!" Adam angers himself again. "Or I'll cut you this, you hear me? I'll cut-"

Nadia was contemplating hitting Adam again when he stopped shouting, looking at the broken mirror in his hand. Lawrence, who was rolling his eyes and turning away, looks back at Adam when he notices Adam's ranting ceased.

"What?" Nadia can't help but laugh out loud at Adam's expression.

Adam gazes at her, astounded, than his eyes roam to the mirror behind her.

"It's a two-way mirror."

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><p><span>Note<span>: Read and Review! Expect me to return the favor, as well, to show my thanks. (:

So, what do you think is going on? I want to hear some predictions and thoughts from you!

Disclaimer: The song, that the character Nadia sings, is called _The Penalty_ by _Beirut_. An american band from New Mexico, whose vocalists and instruments sound foriegn. _Beirut_ is an underrated, brilliant band that you should definiately look up on youtube, if you're interested!


	4. Reversing Demeanors

Note: I apologize for not posting this chapter sooner! I have family visiting and a sister that also writes continuously so we've been sharing the same computer. But I admit reviews will encourage me to post the next chapter quicker! ;)

Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter IV - Reversing Demeanors<strong>

Nadia's repressed laughter ceases when Adam's realization is voiced. She spins around and studies the chipped mirror. A moment later she lets out a shriek when the mirror shatters instantly, startling her.

"Watch it!"

Lawrence got on his feet to get a better look. The three of them are staring back at a camera that's recording them behind clear glass.

"So that's what this is? Reality TV," Adam's voice is weeping sarcasm.

"Can you hear me in their? Huh? I'm having a blast!" he's gathering rubble from the floor and casting it at the glass. "This is the most fun I've had without lubricant," Adam throws another piece of tile and carelessly strikes Nadia in the face.

"Ouch!" Nadia slaps her hand against her eye. When she eventually removes it there is a small gash on her upper cheek. "Oh," she stares at her palm specked lightly with blood.

"Shit, I'm so sorry!" Adam covers his mouth with his fist, than starts towards her with his hands lifted. "I'm really sorry."

Nadia ignores him and turns to Lawrence, "It's fine, right?"

Lawrence tells Nadia, "Yea, you're alright. Just try to not get any dirt inside the cut; you don't want it to get infected."

"Right," she looks to her right.

Adam has his hands in his hair and he's gawking at her with a shaken appearance.

"I'm sorry," is all he says.

Nadia nods her head instead of fighting with Adam. Her eyes betray exhaustion, and in her stomach and the back of her throat she feels a groveling nausea. She's longing to give in to this game and sleep away the gruesome scene, but doesn't from the threat of the camera recording them. She sits where she stands, clearing away blood that's trickling lightly onto her pants before she hangs her head.

"That's not going to do anything," Lawrence is addressing to Adam who was bending down for debris again.

"You just want to leave it running on us?" Adam pauses.

Nadia wearily glances at Adam, "You can't stop it."

Adam looks down at her astounded.

"That's why we can't saw through these chains. It's why you won't break that glass. Every possible angle has been pre-thought out by him," Nadia sounds in awe.

Adam doesn't notice the slight sting of jealousy stirring in his chest before anger replaces it, "You sound like you admire this prick."

Lawrence chimes in and agrees with Nadia, "That's true. Adam, to overcome something you have to know what a perfect engine it is. That's how you fight disease."

"Exactly," Nadia gives Lawrence a feeble smile despite the nausea that's overcoming her quickly.

"Now the tape told us to find an X. That X has to somewhere in this room," Lawrence searches the ceiling and around the walls. "Help me find it."

Nadia peers over her shoulder, seeking for another brown drawing similar to the heart on the toilet. Adam does not help them though; he's unbelievingly gaping at Lawrence.

He can't trust Lawrence's calm mannerism in their situation. Just as much as Lawrence is sick of their behavior, Adam is growing fed up of Lawrence's calm attitude.

"How can you be the calm doctor-guy when your wife and kid are out there? He's got them, too. He could be doing anything to them right now."

Lawrence is still studying the walls; he appears to be avoiding Adam. Nadia hisses at the young man beside her to be quiet, but he ignores her and continues.

"Are you thinking about that?"

Lawrence suddenly glares towards Adam and snaps, "I _am_ thinking about that!"

Adam backs off and drops his head with assurance. Nadia marks him with an angry disappointment and it goes noticed by Adam. He gazes in her eyes and feels ashamed. Her stare is tired, though there is something else he can't decipher. Adam feels worse when Lawrence speaks and Nadia frowns regarding the doctor.

His tone has turned from irritation to a sudden despondence, "I've been thinking about the last thing I said to my daughter."

_Doctor Gordon was hunched over his laptop computer, working furiously on a paper he was writing. Though he was focused intensely, his mind was wandering to one of his students, Carla, who had made it obvious that she wanted to spend time with him, unprofessionally. _

_Earlier that day, Doctor Gordon found himself alone with the young woman in an empty hospital room. Carla had stayed behind after he had finished explaining medical procedures to his group of college students who left minutes ago. She had revealed her current infatuation with him and Doctor Gordon's reply was that she meet him in a backwoods motel down town. She agreed instantly._

_Tonight, as Doctor Gordon finished his work, he waited for her to page him once she arrived at the motel like planned. _

"_Larry, sorry to bother you, but your daughter had a bad dream again," Doctor Gordon's wife was speaking to him over his laptop._

_Doctor Gordon's eyes didn't leave the screen and he raised his hand to pause her, "Just a minute, Allison."_

"_She wants you to check her room."_

"_Mmhmm, just gotta finish this paragraph," Doctor Gordon is still typing._

_Allison wait's a moment than turns to the little girl at her hip, "You know what, sweetie? I'll go check with you."_

_As they turn, Doctor Gordon finishes and slams his laptop closed and smiles, "Nope! I'm done." _

_He walks his daughter into her room and tucks her into bed, handing her her favorite stuffed bear. Reassuringly, he eases her nightly nerves._

"_See? There's no one in your room. There's no such thing as the bad man. Now can you go to sleep, Diana?"_

_Diana is still scared and voices her feelings. Lawrence sighs with a smile and grabs her foot. One by one he wiggles her toes, reciting a children's riddle as she laughs. Suddenly, Carla calls him and his pager beeps. _

"_I hate that thing," Diana states with a frown._

_Lawrence realizes that subconsciously he's been debating whether he should go through with his plans in meeting Carla at the hotel. He decides within the moment that he is going to tell her it was a mistake, and that an affair is not something he can go through with._

"_Well, I have to go to work sweetheart. You know how Daddy's job is," Lawrence tells his daughter. "Now come one. Try and get some sleep now, okay?"_

"_You're not going to leave us, are you, daddy?" Diana asks before Lawrence leaves the room._

_He walks back, sits on her bed, and tells her she never has to worry about that._

_Moments later, once Diana is tucked into bed and Lawrence is about to leave, Allison follows him to the door._

"_I don't know how much longer I can do this, Larry," She confronts him._

"_What, What are you talking about?" Lawrence's tone sounds like he doesn't know what she means._

"_How can you walk through life pretending that you're happy?" Allison is in disbelief._

"_I am happy."_

"_That is complete bullshit. I'd rather you break down and tell me that you hated me. At least there'd be some passion in it."_

_Lawrence brushes off her words like they're not important and that nothing is wrong, "We can talk about this later, okay?"_

_Allison walks away from Lawrence when he tries to kiss her, "Just leave."_

Lawrence is recalling the loving things he longed to say to Allison, but he walked out like she demanded. He also regrets not recounting Diana's favorite bedtime story as he wishes more and more he could be with his family. He looks up from where he sits now, across at Nadia and Adam who are resting beside each other.

"Would you like to see her?" he reaches into his pocket and digs out his wallet before tossing it across the room.

It hits the floor behind Adam and he crawls for the wallet, settling his back against the wall. Nadia clambers to lie against the tub, about three feet from Adam.

"She's beautiful," Adam smiles at Lawrence.

Nadia peers to her right to see Adam observing Lawrence's photos. He regards her and hands her the wallet.

"You gonna have anymore kids?" Adam sighs, talking to Lawrence.

Nadia notes a little girl with long brown hair, hugging a dog.

"We've talked about it, but uh, with our schedules, it's difficult enough to concentrate on one," Lawrence has lost his snobby air completely.

"Where's the lucky wife?" Nadia refers to the wallet with a small grin.

"There's another picture behind the one you're looking at. It's my favorite one because we're all in it together. Someone, usually me, has to hold the camera, which means I'm always missing from the photos," Lawrence exhales. "You have family?"

Adam chuckles somewhat, "Wife and kid? No."

Nadia shakes her head and digs behind a photo, retrieving a Polaroid she assumed to be of Lawrence's family.

"All I've got to come home to is an empty refrigerator and cigarette butts," Adam continues, watching Lawrence.

Nadia unfolds the photo to find a picture of a woman and a little girl tied and gagged.

"What? No love interests?" Lawrence teases Adam. "I guess we'd have to be deaf to notice your charms."

"Yea," Adam sighs to the floor, then his face crumples when he realizes Lawrence insulted him. "Hey!"

Lawrence is laughing at Adam's reaction while Adam is trying to not smile. Nadia turns the photo over and in white marker Jigsaw has written a message.

'_X marks the spot. Sometimes you see more with your eyes shut_,' Nadia reads.

"Hey, my charm exceeds more than what you think," Adam isn't paying attention to Nadia, but still talking to Lawrence. "Only problem is I can't find a good enough woman to keep."

Nadia folds the photo into her pocket, thankful it goes unnoticed.

"Uh, Lawrence. It's not here," she lies.

Lawrence's laugh subsides, "What?"

"This photo you were talking about, it's not here."

"Really? Are you sure?" Lawrence holds out his hand for Nadia to toss the wallet, catching it when she does. "He… He must've taken it," Lawrence is stunned.

Nadia suggests comfort and Adam considers her with a puzzled expression.

"What?" she asks, her heart rate increasing.

Adam is silent for a moment before he responds, "You don't recognize me at all?" His questions are renewed.

Nadia breathes out. She can't conclude where or how she could know him, but he's right in asking. She does recognize him, though she won't admit it. At first she assumed he looked like someone she knew, but than he said he recognized her as well. The more Nadia has been studying Adam, the more she's convinced that he's right in believing he knows her. Yet she still shakes her head and denies her recognition for reasons she can't even decipher.

"Where do you work and live? Maybe we have a mutual friend or there's a place we both visit often," Adam is determined for vindication.

"I don't think so," Nadia replies simply.

"I know you recognize me," Adam's voice is rising.

Nadia glances over at Adam who is increasing distress. She shakes her head still, a light smile playing across her face.

"Look! Lawrence is right. We've got to work together," Adam begs her for a response.

Lawrence agrees with Adam but Nadia's thoughts are elsewhere as she turns away. She's feeling very ill once more and wishes to lie down more than anything. She's beginning to feel dizzy when Adam shouts.

"You're keeping me in the dark about something!"

The statement strikes Nadia and she remembers what the back of the Polaroid said.

"Turn off the lights," she's struggling to stand up.

Lawrence's brow furrows, "What?"

"Turn them off now, please!" Nadia is still struggling to her feet when Adam stands, grabs her arm, and helps her up.

Lawrence observes Nadia's growing weakness, "Are you feeling well? You look really pale."

"Just turn off the lights for a second!" she is determined, despite her vertigo.

Lawrence stares at Nadia perplexed. He shuffles over to flip the switch and the lights are off within a moment, despite his doubt. Lawrence searches the pitch-dark for a reason as to why he listened to Nadia's demand.

"Jesus, behind you!" Adam's cry drifts out of the gloom.

There is a giant X radiating on the wall beside Lawrence.

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><p><span>Note<span>: Review and expect me to return the favor! Thanks for reading. (:


	5. Everything's Evident

Note: The past few weeks have kept me really busy, but future chapters will be posted within better time as events die away now.

On a different tune, isn't Specs (the character from Insidious) the perfect specimen of a male? Mmm, geeky and gorgeous; those glasses are sexy, Leigh. Haha, I'm listening to the film in the background and need to voice my opinion real swift. :)

_*gasp* "Starfleet series one! ...They're really hard to find.. You shoulda kept it in it's box..."_

Or something like that. I can't find the remote.

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><p><strong>Chapter V - Everything's Evident <strong>

"How come we didn't see that before?" Lawrence refers to the gleaming X.

"The lights in here hadn't charged it. Must be glow in the dark paint or something," Adam suggests.

Nadia sighs ease as Lawrence delivers brilliant light back into the room. Jigsaw's victims wince somewhat from the sudden bright glare before Lawrence bows and takes up the saw from the blackened floor.

Nadia staggers where she is poised and closes her eyes. She's aware of harsh, perspiring hands run over her shoulders, guiding her gently and traveling her to the spot beside the bathtub.

"You don't look so good," Adam shadows over Nadia.

"I don't feel it either."

"What's wrong?"

"Lack of food and sleep, this whole fucked up situation."

"You're gonna be able to stay awake, right?" Adam depends on Lawrence and Nadia to keep him calm. Without them, he believes he would be in a worse state of mind.

Nadia is panting from nausea and her mind pulses from an accelerated migraine. She slides her body down against the bathtub and dumps her head and cheek against the cool surface of the porcelain tub. Nadia feels compelled to pass out and Adam is studying her with burning anxiety; if she loses consciousness, she won't find the key.

Meanwhile, Lawrence hacks away the wall where the X is marked. The deafening sounds startle Adam and Nadia cringes with a small groan. He breaks through the tiles and discovers a box inside an empty chasm. Lawrence drags it out with a feeble smile and reveals it to the others.

"Open it!" Adam dismisses his worry of Nadia momentarily, grows excited, and with enthusiasm, moves forward as far as his chain will allow.

Lawrence sits on the floor and slides the box around, "It's locked." He pauses, "The key. The one from my envelope, where is it?"

"Where the fuck?" Adam is searching the ground. "Here!"

He snatches up the small key in the corner with haste and tosses it over to Lawrence. Lawrence scrambles a moment then unlocks the metal chest. He lifts the lid and breathes out with solace. Lawrence relaxes noticeably and closes his eyes with a giant grin.

"What?" Nadia recognizes Lawrence's reaction to the opened box.

A cell phone lies within the container among other small objects. Lawrence holds up the phone, smiling as Adam lets out a delighted laugh.

"The most beautiful invention on this planet," Adam sings.

He looks down at Nadia who smiles back up at him wearily, but still with noticeable euphoria. A brief thought from their instant happiness crosses Adam's mind; Nadia is very attractive to him. When he returns his attention to across the room, Lawrence is holding up a cigarette. Adam concludes he believes in God after all and would have kissed Lawrence out of ecstasy if not for the distance.

"Make that second most beautiful invention! Give me that," Adam signals for Lawrence to toss it, flashing a joyous smile.

"You're joking. You're going to put something we found in this room in your mouth?" Nadia's laugh fades as she looks up at him astonished.

Adam thinks it over a moment, "Yes! I'm willing to risk it. Give me that sweet cancer! I don't care. I really don't."

Nadia scoffs and Lawrence stares, with a small shake of his head, at Adam before tossing the cigarette aside. Adam's jaw drops open slightly when he watches Lawrence's reaction. He's stunned a moment as Lawrence tosses a second cigarette and even a lighter beside the first smoke from the box. Nadia muffles a laugh at his dumbfounded expression.

There is a small scrap of paper remaining in the chest. The word 'shhhhh' was printed on the material and Lawrence unfolds it, keeping his hand and the note away from the others' view.

'_The cigarettes are harmless, I promise. Smoking is only poisonous when it ends in bloodshed. Think about this - You don't need a gun to kill Adam_,' Jigsaw's message reads.

"May I please have a cigarette?" Adam repeats himself in frustration.

"If you're still alive after a minute, Adam, I would like a drag please," Nadia smokes occasionally and decides to herself that this situation is an occasion.

"I'm trying the police," Lawrence ignores Adam and drops the note in the box before dialing nine-one-one on the cell phone.

Unfortunately, the call does not go through. Instead there is a constant beeping on the other end. He tries again, but hears the busy tone once more.

"Shit, this was only meant to receive calls, not make them," Lawrence's faith melts.

Nadia's face crumples and she hides it between her knees as she let's out a heavy sigh. She wants to learn why she is instantly feeling ill and assumes the longer they're stuck in this room, the sicker she'll become for whatever reason. She believes this situation isn't fair; unfortunately the key she must find won't release her. She doesn't voice this, though. Nadia doesn't want to show anymore signs of weakness in this game of survival.

"Wait a minute… This has happened before," Lawrence's face exposes remembrance.

Nadia raises her head and asks, "What do you mean?"

"Last night," Lawrence continues, "after I finished at the hospital I was walking back to my car. I thought I was alone, but I'm sure someone was there."

_Inside a parking garage, Doctor Gordon carried a briefcase between a row of cars. He stopped for a moment to rub away the exhaustion he felt of overworking from his eyes. _

_Suddenly a flash of light came from a corner to the side of him and startled Doctor Gordon. He looked up in the direction he believed he saw it. He searched around for a moment longer, but continued further to his car, dismissing the flash._

_Once Doctor Gordon found the place he parked and began his drive out of the garage, he found the security gate abandoned. He got out of the car and went over to the phone on the wall to dial for security to let him out. Unfortunately, the signal was busy so, feeling aggravated, he attempted to call the hospital from his cell phone. To add to his confusion, the line was indicating he couldn't make outgoing calls._

_Doctor Gordon is unaware that, while he is distracted, a figure is about to rush up behind him. As it occurs, that is the last Doctor Gordon remembers._

"That…thing. It was waiting for me," Lawrence exhales sharply, than looks at Nadia with suspicion. "How did you know to turn off the lights?"

Adam suddenly drifts from Lawrence to Nadia and questions her as well with his downcast eyes.

"Who cares? It worked," Nadia appears fed up and wipes her forehead.

"Yea, but how did you know?" Adam repeats Lawrence's question.

Nadia pauses with thought before answering, "Instinct."

Adam jeers, "You're a terrible liar."

"You say that like you know me," Nadia's irritation is beginning to surface.

"What else aren't you telling us?" Lawrence accuses her.

Nadia becomes full of herself and sarcastic, "Well, hmmm, let's see. When I was nine, I accidentally broke my mom's favorite vase and blamed it on my little sister. I didn't tell you about that. I didn't tell you that on my last day of high school I switched my asshole of a teacher's coffee with a special marijuana-based coffee. Always felt proud of that. Hmmm, I haven't told either of you that when I get angry I call a ther-"

"Just stop it!" Lawrence cuts her off, furious. "You knew to turn off these lights."

"Whatever you say, boss."

Adam scoffs at Nadia as he shakes his head and withdrawals further from her. Nadia glares up at Adam's back and feels she's had enough. Thinking to herself, she curses the two men she's stuck with and momentarily doesn't care if they escape or never get out. She asks herself why she should aid them when they insult her. The key she must find won't benefit her freedom. She only hopes help will find them all eventually.

Lawrence stands up, "I'm dealing with a juvenile!"

Nadia struggles to her feet with anger guiding her, surprising herself that she is able to stand on her own, "You wanna know?"

"Yeah!" Lawrence exclaims, exasperated.

Nadia pulls the photo out of her pocket and tosses it across to the doctor, "Here it is."

Nadia feels ashamed when she detects Lawrence's anguish appear on his face after he bent down to retrieve the Polaroid.

"Oh God," Lawrence is flipping the photo over, than back again shaking. "W-where did you get this?"

Nadia looks down, feeling awful for Lawrence, "It was in your wallet, behind the photo of your daughter."

Lawrence's air of calm is disappearing considerably and he's becoming terrified for himself and for his family. He begins to sob as he touches the photo of his wife and daughter.

"Why didn't you show me this before?" Lawrence is a wreck.

"I couldn't," Nadia sighs. "I'm sorry."

"What is it?" Adam voices his curiosity.

"A photo of his family; Jigsaw really has them. There was a clue on the back hinting to turn off the lights," Nadia explains with her gaze glued to the floor.

A moment later, Adam softly whispers to her with a disbelieving laugh, "You didn't tell him about the photo for his sake."

"What?" Nadia looks up.

"You only care about yourself," Adam is beginning to realize she's been lying. "What else are you hiding?"

"I'm no-"

"What are you doing to them you bastard?" Lawrence cuts Nadia off and screams at the camera. The situation is really beginning to dawn on him and he's crying miserably.

Adam looks at Lawrence with a simple sympathy and turns back to Nadia, "This is so fucked up."

Adam sits against the pipe in his corner, leaning over with his head in his hands and eyes closed. Nadia is still standing, revealing hardly any emotion. She sighs and lowers herself back onto the ground to rest.

"Okay… Okay, I've got to think," Lawrence aims to pull himself together.

He's believes Jigsaw's message and thinks of the devotion he has for his family. It's true when people say you don't know what love is until you have a child of your own. His heart is breaking as he sits on the filthy, tile floor, hoping his family is okay yet knowing they aren't. He takes a deep breath with realization, understanding the only way he can be guaranteed their safety is to kill Adam.

The note inside the box is screaming in contrast compared to the rest of his surroundings. Lawrence internally fights his conscious and ideas when he glances at the body and it's blood, than at the cigarettes. He forms an idea and twists down, dipping the end of a cigarette in blood while Adam's head hangs. He puts it back in the box and notices Nadia was observing him. He nods at her and hopes she doesn't say anything before he can explain himself.

As Lawrence is getting to his feet, Nadia is silent and unsure of what she witnessed. She's doubtful of whether she wants to tell Adam what Lawrence did. Nadia resolves to remain secretive until an explanation unfolds. But the question of whether or not Lawrence is about to kill Adam is troubling Nadia. Unfortunately, the fear she's feeling for Adam is being misinterpreted as anxiety for herself.

Adam is thankful that silence eases the atmosphere. Leaning down, his mind drifts to dreams of what he would do once, hopefully, him and the others survived and escaped. He lets his thoughts wonder too far and he sees himself moving out of his shitty apartment. He wants to find a woman that's not a one night stand. Maybe he'll even buy a pet like a husky, or a Siamese cat. Adam smiles when he imagines himself becoming a record producer with a Cadillac El Dorado 1968. Sadly, his contentment is soon enough replaced with confusion when he looks up, releasing his mess of hair.

Lawrence is standing to his feet, and for some reason looking towards Adam for a reaction. Lawrence moves towards the wall on his side of the bathroom before Nadia struggles onto her feet cautiously with wide eyes, and Adam does the same. Nadia is looking back and forth between him and Lawrence with anticipation that Adam notices. He hasn't forgotten Lawrence's tape and their behavior is suspicious. Lawrence glances at the camera in the wall as he puts his hand on the light switch.

"What are you doing?" Adam asks, with an exposed, hopeless feeling as the lights go out.

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><p><span>Note<span>: Thank's for reading! What did y'all think? (:


	6. An Enjoyable Charade

Note: Please review! That's all. (:

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><p><strong>Chapter VI - An Enjoyable Charade<strong>

"Hey! What the hell are you guys doing?" Adam feels endangered and apprehensive.

He squints around via the direction of Lawrence and than turns to seek for Nadia; he can't catch sight of them. Adam puts his hand in front his face, but doesn't behold his palm either. Immediately Lawrence's whisper echoes from the pitch-black.

"Adam, Nadia, listen to me. I want you to play along with me on this," Lawrence's hushed plan unfolds. "Adam, I'm going to give you a cigarette. After you smoke it I want you to act like you've been poisoned and play dead. Nadia, I need you to pretend like you don't know what's going on and act like I've just killed Adam."

Nadia straightaway comprehends why Lawrence was dipping a cigarette into the puddle of blood and nods her head. Remembering they can't regard her she agrees out loud.

"You got that?" Lawrence asks.

Because he's never been an expert on lying, Adam internally curses himself and complies nervously, "Yea, we got it."

As the fluorescents return, Nadia leers upon Lawrence and Adam once more. Adam's expression is disturbed, but it rapidly vanishes to be compensated with a supposed nonchalant look. She glances at Lawrence who seems determined and wonders to herself what her appearance demonstrates. She still feels the sickness and vertigo that has been eating away at her for the time being, but inhales deeply getting ready for their charade.

Lawrence takes up a detached air and asks, "So you, uh, still want that cigarette?"

Adam looks insecure of himself but answers still, "Uhmm… Yea, sure."

Nadia closes her eyes away from the camera. Already their act is not convincing enough and she has a awful feeling about how it will end.

Lawrence dramatically reaches into the box where the poisoned cigarette is. For a moment his hand pauses above the safe cigarette and he wonders what if. What if he gave Adam the infected one instead? His family's troubles would vanish, to be replaced with only the guilty side effects of killing a man. He shakes the thought from his head, unable to kill an innocent human being, and grants Adam life. Lawrence picks up and throws the nontoxic cigarette across the room to him, along with the lighter.

Dismissing the circumstances for a moment, Adam scrambles to the cigarette with his insides jumping in joy. He puts what is a Marlboro between his lips and bends down for the lighter. As his mind is already relieving the itch he's had to ignore, he speculates for only a second if Lawrence is poisoning him. He literally shrugs the wonder away as he begins to light the cigarette.

Meanwhile, Nadia is having a difficult time restraining herself from leaping the three feet between her and Adam and yanking the cigarette from his mouth. As he inhales the smoke, she realizes that if he were to die before her, she would be devastated. Though in their circumstances, he hasn't been as kind as he would have been if their scene was different, Nadia can tell Adam is a good person. She prays Lawrence didn't give him the deadly cigarette.

Adam is exhaling a sigh with smoke and a smile; he doesn't have to fake this. The momentary relief must end eventually though and Adam bears in mind what Lawrence asked of him. So taking one more drag off of his sweet cancer, Adam freezes before he jerks his head emitting a strange gurgling sound from his throat.

"What the fuck?" Nadia is dumbfounded.

The camera behind her can not see her amused face. As Adam drops the cigarette and grabs his throat, Nadia ponders what he is thinking. His charade is certainly not persuasive. It gets worse as he jerks violently and makes choking imitations that sound like squeaks as he falls to his knees. Nadia covers up her slight laugh as a gasp of shock. Adam holds out his arm hysterically to Nadia and she thinks to herself what the hell?

"Oh my God, Adam!" Nadia surges forward and takes hold of his arm, bending down to sit on her knees beside him.

Adam is twitching now, holding her cardigan in his fist, and still acting as if he is suffocating. He looks at Nadia's face and is thankful the camera can't see her expression. If he were to guess what she's thinking, it would be 'just die already.' So he exhales a long breath, closes his eyes, and lies still in Nadia's arms. Adam's death was obviously very fake.

"Adam, wake up!" Nadia shouts in his ear. "Hey! Oh, what the fuck? What the… What the fuck did you do, Lawrence?"

Adam feels a warmth grow inside of him. Weirdly, he savors hearing Nadia worry for him, even if it is only a sham. The feeling grows warmer when he senses her soft hand run along his neck to his cheek. Adam feels an impulse to open his eyes, or put his hand atop hers to comfort her artificial agony.

Lawrence turns to the surveillance camera and shouts, "There! I've done it! I've killed him with the poison, just like you wanted."

"No!" Nadia acts on.

Lawrence ignores her, "Now where's my family? Where are they?"

Nadia is wondering if anyone will show up when Adam's body jerks to life and he cries out. There is a loud electrical sound buzzing in their ears and Adam spasms in Nadia's arms.

"A-Adam!" Nadia is holding on to him as hard as she can, trying to keep his body from jerking; she's genuinely scared for him now.

Finally, the electrocution ceases and Adam raises up, gasping on Nadia's shoulder.

"Jesus Christ!" he's in pain.

"What?" Lawrence and Nadia shout in unison.

"I just got electrocuted!" Adam scoots away from Nadia and stares around with wide eyes.

Lawrence is not concerned, but furious. He can't believe that Adam has sabotaged his plan and the only way he could convince Jigsaw to let his beloved family go.

"What?" Lawrence rolls his eyes, "That was our way out!"

Adam looks across the room in shock and unbelieving that Lawrence would think he purposefully ruined the charade.

"Did you hear what I said?" Adam roars before he begins to pull at his chain. "Get this thing off me! Get it off!"

"Oh, stop acting!" Lawrence scoffs over Adam's shrieks.

Adam stops pulling at his chain, "You think I would make that up just to mess up your stupid fucking charade?"

"Please stop," Nadia murmurs to Adam; she is growing a headache form the shouts.

Adam observes Nadia for the first time since his electrocution and his mouth drops slightly; her face is deathly pale and wet with sweat as is her hair. Adam can tell something is definitely wrong with her now and it's gotten worse within minutes.

"All right, that's it!" Lawrence is losing his calm composure little by little, and isn't paying attention to his company. He sits down, takes up the hacksaw, and begins to cut through his chain. With no success, Lawrence becomes pissed and throws the blade down, "Ah, damn it!"

Meanwhile, Adam is studying Nadia's dazed expression. Her eyes are closed in pain and she's leaning against the rusted tub.

"Hey, are you alr-" Adam abruptly freezes mid-sentence, a look of dawning growing across his face.

Lawrence glances up from where he's fuming, "What?"

"You," Adam is gazing at Nadia.

Half dazed but still conscious, Nadia listens to Adam's voice. She opens her sight to find the young man standing up and staring at her a few feet away.

"What?" She pants in disorientation.

"It was you. You put me in here!" Adam's accusation is loud, his eyes entangling madness.

Nadia's brow furrows and can't comprehend what Adam is shouting. She has no idea what he's talking about and looks across the room, wondering if Lawrence does.

"What are you talking about?" the blonde man asks the other.

Nadia ganders back up at Adam for an explanation; he's shadowing over her with an expression of shock and understanding.

"I remember everything now," he tells her. "I remember how I got here. I remember you!"

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><p><span>Note<span>: Cliffhanger! If I get reviews there will be a quick revelation, ay?


	7. Drunken Hospitality

Note: I am not sure whether this chapter deserves an M-rating or not so I will just give it a warning. There is implied sexual content, but it's not graphic so I'm keeping the entire fanfiction T-rated. Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter VII - Drunken Hospitality<strong>

_Neon lights emancipated from the drifting smoke that drowned the bar. The walls inside of Madison's Pub were plastered with advertising signs of local artists and autographed pictures of music legends with fans. There was an acceptably large crowd of hipsters starting their night with friends and suits who were ending their day with a drink. The band playing progressive rock songs were loud and full of life as they melted minds and animaled souls with their harmonies._

_A man, with messy, dark brown hair and a professional camera that swung across his chest, strutted in as the band finished their first song with a complex guitar solo. He smiled towards the musicians with approval and they waved when they noticed him before punching the air as a new tune vibrated throughout the air. The man obviously knew who the people were that played such magnetic music._

_The dark haired liberal took a seat, carelessly drumming his camera against the bar, beside a woman with a beautiful composure and gave his attention to the waiter._

"_Hey Marley! Can I get a shot of Turkey an-" he began._

"_Excuse me, a glass of your simplest vodka on the roc-" the beautiful woman asked at in unison as the man beside her, but cut off her request as the bartender stared at both of them in wonder of who to serve first._

_The woman's light brown eyes glanced to her right at the hipster, signaling patiently for him to order first._

"_Uh, can I get a shot of Turkey 101 and…" The man spoke to the bartender but kept his eyes on the woman. "A glass of vodka on the rocks," he smiled._

"_No problem," the bartender turned the back of his Mohawk to them and began creating their drinks._

_The woman smiled back at the dark haired stranger and he reached out his open hand in invitation._

"_Adam," he introduced himself confidently._

"_Thank you, Adam," she spoke with just as much confidence and shook his hand. "I'm Nadia."_

_Adam grinned wider, "Nadia. That's a very groovy name. I haven't run into _that_ name around here before. Is this your first time at Madison's?" Adam referred to the Pub. _

_Nadia nodded, "Thought I'd have a night out to myself; I'm off work tomorrow."_

"_Hmmm," Adam mused as their drinks were handed to them and he thanked the bartender. "Cheers, man. This woman is conforming from society tonight; she's not working a twentieth first century invention! Cheers to flipping off careers!"_

_The bartender shook his head with a smile as Adam downed his shot with one gulp._

"_Let's have another, Marley," he beamed._

_Marley, the bartender, snickered and spoke to Nadia, "Better be careful around this one, you should." He grinned and disappeared for a moment to return with another small glass, filled to the brim with a copper-toned liquid, "His band mates usually have to drag his drunk ass out around midnight most visits."_

"_Not tonight, Marley!" Adam laughed. "That is there not my band mates tonight. But they'll probably have to drag my ass out anyway. I'm taking a day off from work tomorrow, if you catch my drift," he winked towards Nadia._

_She chuckled and took a small sip from the clear refreshment Adam ordered for her. Nadia and Adam's conversation migrated deeper and Marley walked away when a customer signaled him._

"_So are you a photographer?" Nadia touched Adam's camera._

"_Yep, I take photos of brilliant, young, naked women with long, red hair who talk to strangers at strange bars," his sarcasm was heavy in the air and Nadia giggled along with Adam's remark._

_The clock's hands soared for two hours above them as they drank their poisons. It was almost midnight when Nadia's speech began to slur just as much as Adam. _

"_So I telled him! Hahaha, next time ya insult Bob Dylan yer out! No one! No one insults Dylan. I love him, I really do. Do… Do you love him?" Adam's boasting transformed into a hopeful expression as his head swayed._

"_Yea, I do. I really do, Adam," Nadia's laughing altered into affection as Adam asked her the silly question._

_Adam and Nadia were very drunk by the clock. Adam lit his nth cigarette and stared at Nadia for awhile, just smiling. She noticed it and grew awkward, feeling self-conscious._

"_What?" She laughed nervously._

_He took a drag off of his smoke and held it in his mouth. _

"_Here! Try one," Adam spoke through his cigarette, opening his pack of Marlboros and handing one to Nadia._

"_No, I don't want to get into the habit," she smiled, shaking her head and taking a gulp of her vanishing vodka._

"_Go on," Adam urged her, holding out the cigarette when Nadia simpered._

"_Oh, alright. What's it gonna hurt?" she slurred._

_Nadia took the cigarette and slid it in her mouth. Adam grinned, with his teeth holding his smoke, and he lit her cigarette slowly. Nadia took a drag and when the smoke filled her throat she coughed slightly. She used to smoke regularly, but quit for her health. It had been awhile since she inhaled a cigarette, but the familiar feeling was nice. She took another drag, blowing a white, smoky O through her mouth._

"_Impressive," Adam was awed._

"_Hmmm, thank you."_

_Adam's eyes stared at Nadia once more for awhile. He studied her lips as they engulfed the butt of the tobacco, and imagined them sucking on something else. Adam gulped and finally looked away, flushed and red in his face and arms._

"_Hey," Nadia spoke with a final tone._

_He swayed and gazed into her eyes, expecting her to say the night was late and she should leave. He imagined her to say goodbye and that be the end of whatever it was they had shared meanwhile in the bar. Usually, it was the already drunk whores with neon make-up and revealing clothing that Adam would accompany back to their apartment for an hour of meaningless fucking. He never was able to score a woman that he would connect with on those occasional, random nights of heavy conversations and light flirting. His heart sunk every time they abandoned him to return to their lives and think nothing more of him; they were always too exceptional for him anyway. When Nadia spoke, he imagined her that marvelous and his thoughts grew dark and despondent as his wondering was under the influence._

"_I know. It's late, you should probably head home," his brows furrowed in drunken frustration and dark assumption._

"_I was going to say I know what you really want. And usually a woman has more respect for herself, but as it is… I want the same. So, you can either invite me over to your place or… you can follow me home," Nadia smiled, standing up from her seat._

_Adam couldn't believe his luck and he regained his confidence._

"_Well! This is a nice switch up! I guess my band mates don't have to drag my lonely ass out tonight."_

_With his final public boast, Adam paid Marley his tab as he and Nadia left the bar. Adam suggested they journey to his apartment since it was around the corner. They marched off the alcohol and were left exhausted walking into Adam's apartment building._

"_There's not an elevator?" Nadia was in shock at the flight of stairs Adam climbed everyday._

"_It's not that high," Adam chortled. "It's the vodka lying to you."_

"_Oh," Nadia sighed._

_Adam grabbed her waist and guided her up the stairs. She leaned her head against his shoulder as they trudged up the steps, then she kissed his neck lightly when they reached the top landing._

"_Ah, let's find the door," Adam loved the feeling of her lips and hot breath on his skin; he anticipated more._

_Once Adam unlocked his apartment, Nadia nibbled the back of his neck softly as he strolled in. He grabbed her roughly by the waist and threw her inside before he closed the door. Laughing, she ran from the entrance hall and observed a small kitchen and den taking up one room. There was a door leading to another room with a bed, and pictures suspended from laundry pins on thin lines of string hanging from the ceiling. Most of the photographs were of a business man in black and white. _

"_Young, naked women, huh?" Nadia teased Adam. _

"_Just business," Adam smirked at her. _

_Nadia shook her head and headed towards Adam's bedroom where she wasted no time in undressing. She took off her lace cardigan and golden flats before shouting, "Do you have any music?"_

_Adam looked at her and blushed. It went unnoticed as she was whisking away crumbs from his bed linens. He felt slightly embarrassed, but she eased his nerves as she was smiling._

"_Uh, sorry. I, uh, yea! I got music, hold on."_

_Adam cursed himself and couldn't comprehend why he felt so anxious. He concluded that it was possibly because Nadia was much different than the other women. He really enjoyed her company, and resolved he wasn't going to close his eyes and fantasize about another woman tonight. Nadia was more gorgeous than any fantasy his fantastic imagination could come up with. So he turned to the stereo beside the old couch and pressed play. The album 'Nothing's Shocking' by Jane's Addiction began to vibrate the apartment._

"_Hey, I _love_ this band!" Nadia slurred loudly from the other room._

_Adam grinned joyously to himself, closed his eyes and exhaled. Most of the women that rarely ended up at his apartment scolded his music tastes and admired untalented, mainstream artists. Nadia was certainly a nice correction in one night stands. He gave his faultless concern to his gorgeous company and walked into his bedroom with the music chasing him inside._

"_Are you thirsty?" he asked her politely._

_The woman shook her head and stood silently, waiting for Adam to make his move. He took in a deep breath and slowly walked up beside her. She was wearing a simple black bra and plain black panties, her cardigan and peach take lay abandoned along with her white pants on the floor. Adam's nervousness excited her and she smiled, taking his hands in hers. That's when Adam noticed a wrist of hers was bandaged with gauze; it was hidden by her clothing initially._

"_What's this?" he asked with drunken concern, lifting the wounded arm. _

_Nadia considered him for a moment then smiled, "Nothing worth talking over. Let's just enjoy each other tonight, okay?"_

_Adam's expression betrayed his longing and tensed somewhat when her hands guided his to her sides. He ran his palms against her back and brought her body closer to his. _

"_I… I think your beautiful," he admitted in a whispered rush._

_Nadia smiled and leaned into the crook of his neck. Suddenly, Adam felt her hot breath against his skin and his breathing was caught in his throat. He held his breath as her lips placed moist kisses onto his neck and shoulders. He felt her hands roam his back as she grabbed the fabric that clung to his perspiring body. _

"_I want you already," his voice was thick with desire._

_Nadia gazed into Adam's eyes without a reply before she lifted his shirt over his head and threw it into the pile of her clothes as well. He was muscular, only noticeable when bare, and thin, like he wasn't giving himself the nutrition he needed. She rubbed her hands against his chest before kissing him softly on his cheek. Adam let out his breath and made a move to kiss her lips._

"_No," Nadia sternly replied to his action. "I don't want you to kiss me there… At all."_

_Adam expressed confusion for a moment, then cleared his throat with a nod, "Alright. Why, though? I want to."_

"_Because. I've never had my first kiss," Nadia laughed. "I want it to be special!"_

"_This isn't special?" Adam grinned expectantly._

"_You know what I mean. I want my first kiss to be with the person I'm going to spend my life with. I hardly think you're going to propose to a stranger, sir. Now… Are you going to fuck me or not?" Nadia pulled Adam's mess of hair and kissed his neck, arousing and enrapturing a pleasured cry from Adam._

_The night was haunted by moans and animalistic behavior as Adam and Nadia shared their bodies until hangovers collapsed the pair into exhaustion. Adam closed his eyes, letting sleep take over his consciousness when Nadia did the same._

_Within time, Adam woke abruptly to find himself indeed alone on his bed. It appeared Nadia and her clothes had disappeared from his apartment. Adam sat up, pulled on a t-shirt, and looked out a window to find the night still alive. His hangover wormed around in his head worse than ever when he stood up and threw his boxers and jeans on. The cold air hit his arms while Adam walked over to the heater in the corner to turn it on, but found it not working. He groaned and made his way to the light switch, dragging on a warmer blue striped shirt as he went. He knew before he flipped the switch that the lights weren't working as well. His entire electricity was out._

"_Great," Adam religiously sighed again._

_Agitation and depression began to build up in him again as he looked for a flashlight. A fantasy woman slipped from his grip without a warning or goodbye and, to add to his problems, the electricity in his apartment was turned off. Adam found the flashlight, but it flickered wildly, adding to his anger. When he was on the verge of throwing the lantern to let out his irritation, something moved within the next room suddenly._

"_Nadia?" Adam was startled and he picked up his camera. "Hey, I thought you left."_

_Adam walked into the room the sound came from, holding his camera up in alert. _

"_Is someone there?" _

_Adam took a picture and the flash lit up his apartment, revealing a creepy puppet sitting on his chair._

"_Christ! What the…?" _

_Adam heard the sound again and flashed another photo before picking up a blunt object from the floor. He turned towards the door that led to his closet and shuffled cautiously in the direction. _

"_Who is that? Who's in there? Nadia, you better not be fucking with me!" Adam attempted to sound brave, but was obviously afraid._

_He opened the door and flashed his camera for the last time. Before he could comprehend what was in front of him, a figure with a pig mask attacked Adam and he knew of only nothing else._

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><p><span>Note<span>: Reviews will inspire me to update sooner! ;)


	8. The Answer Within

Note: I apologize for the amount of time it's taken for me to publish this chapter; I won't let it happen again. It's quite short, but I think it's a satisfying read and it reveals yet another twist. Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter VIII - The Answer Within<strong>

After Adam recounted his discerned memory, Lawrence rises to his feet fuming. Nadia's puzzled aspect triggers Lawrence's anger, and his calm demeanor, that has been slowly edging away as the clock ticks on, vanishes. His family is in trouble, his life is being threatened, and the woman across from him is not only acting suspicious, but is possibly the reason he's in this position.

Adam takes a step towards Nadia who is sitting with a blank expression. He's convinced himself that Nadia really is apart of this game, because from what he remembers, her naked body was replaced with a antagonist in a pig mask. His eyes flash passionate rage and betrayal as Nadia observes his face, cutting her to the core.

"You fucking put us in here didn't you? You fucked me, hid in my fucking closet when I passed out, and fucking attacked me before fucking chaining me up!" Adam yells while flailing his arms.

"Is that true?" Lawrence has found his voice. "Did you put me in here as well?"

Nadia can only shake her head at the two angry men, speechless and frightened as they accuse her of something she knows she didn't do. Adam's interrogation is giving fuel to the illness that's overwhelming her being. She can feel the bile rise in her throat, but before the acidic sickness comes up entirely she swallows. She racks her brain searching for the memories of last night, but nothing comes back to greet her. She accepts she spent her evening with Adam, though; she recognizes him. Even though Adam believes this mess is hers, Nadia knows all too well that she has nothing to do with Jigsaw or his game.

Nadia questions herself, _I would know if I planned a murder with someone, right? _

"Yeah, she fucking did. She just can't fucking admit it… Where's the FUCKING KEY?"

Nadia jumps as Adam screams the last two words at her. His outburst withdraws her shock and she stands infuriated.

"I didn't do it! I can't even remember yesterday or last night! If what you said really happened than I must have left before it did. Because I do not know what's going on! I do not need some shitty, worthless fuck up to tell me what I did and didn't do!"

The dull throb in Nadia's wrist is beginning to climax and Nadia is more aware of the pain. She dismisses it as best as she can, concentrating on the conflict between her and Adam instead.

"Fuck up?" Adam clears the space between him and Nadia and inches from her face he spits in a deadly tone, "If you fucking can't remember than you're just as fucking guilty! You more than likely fucking did it!"

"Enough with the fucks, already!" Nadia is in outrage and the nausea is threatening her composure.

She rewards Adam's glare with one of her own and hopes he doesn't notice her growing weakness. She still believes that if she shows vulnerability, she'll somehow lose Jigsaw's game.

"Look just try to remember," Lawrence suggests through gritted teeth. His calm self-control is seeping anger below the surface.

"I told you I can't reme-" Nadia began before she grabs her stomach in agony.

"What? Wha-?" Adam begins to question her, but as she lunges to the side she spits out bile into the bathtub.

Through gags and gasps, Nadia glares into the tub watching black specks cloud her vision. Suddenly, her slight dizziness and nausea take an upturn and she can't hide it any longer. Her skin has gone from pale to deathly white and she screams out as distress rips through her body. Looking down at the pain, she realizes her wrist is bleeding. She has felt it throbbing unnaturally since she's been in this room, but it hadn't peaked to agony until now.

"Oh… No," she gasps before falling backwards onto the filthy tile, holding her wrist as another spasm of pain collapses her into a sob.

Adam rushes towards her, all anger and accusation disappearing from his eyes as he sits on his knees beside her and puts her head onto his lap. Remembering last night, his attraction is still alive and if she really didn't put him in this room, he feels the desire to help her.

"Hey, hey, hey. What is it?" Adam whispers loudly with obvious concern.

Nadia lets Adam hold her, but even if she wanted to cease her cries, she couldn't as the pain seared through her entire arm, shoulder, and eventually her body.

"Lawrence! You're a doctor! What's going on?" Adam shouts to the other end of the room, looking at him.

Lawrence had been staring at Nadia's convulsions with an expression of horror and pity. Adam's direct question took him out of his contemplation.

"I don't know!" Lawrence shakes his head, than an idea pops into his mind. "Take off her bandage! The wound might have gotten infected. If she hasn't been taking care of it, the infection can multiply over time, causing what's happening now."

Lawrence nods to himself and thinks, _Yes, that's it. It has to be._

"Adam," Nadia is coming in and out of consciousness. "I remember."

Nadia's sickness has allowed her access to her memory and last night's events are replayed in her mind. She remembers the whiskey, the run down apartment, Adam's body entangled with her own in white sheets, and how she left as Adam fell asleep. She remembers walking down the paint-chipped stairs, and as she turned the corner a figure in a hood stole her senses with a syringe.

"What?" Adam is staring at her clueless, than a second later realizes what she's referring to.

Nadia is fighting against her body to stay awake, her eyes are flickering open and closed once more. Adam just stares at her, waiting for her to admit more.

"I remember. But I didn't do it. I left when you fell asleep. I was attacked… I think…" Nadia loses consciousness as her head falls limply onto the floor.

Adam's brows are furrowed in an expression of confusion as he shakes Nadia to wake up. Lawrence tells Adam yet again to remove the gauze on her wrist, and Adam listens. When the bandage is removed, his jaw drops and he yells with horror as he reveals her arm.

"What is it?" Lawrence asks.

"Oh my god!" Adam screams. "Ah, fuck me! Lawrence! I found the key!"

When Adam removed the gauze, Nadia's wound was bleeding, yet beneath the blood, beside the poorly sewn stitches lies the word 'KEY' written by black marker.

"What are you talking about? What do you see?" Lawrence is in fright.

"Jigsaw! He fucking put the key in her arm! It looks really bad," Adam chokes out.

He looks upon the wound and finds it revolting, suddenly retching to the side of himself and Nadia. His stomach is empty causing only dry heaves of disgust. As Adam gags, he realizes there is no way out of the bathroom now unless Nadia cuts herself again, something him and Lawrence can't ask of her. He doesn't want to die and won't accept death until his last breath leaves him.

"What are we gonna do? Lawrence!" Adam is in a hysterical panic.

Lawrence is searching his thoughts for an answer. He has always believed there was a way to overcome an obstacle. There was always a way to diagnose a disease. There was always a way to heal and save a patient. Yet now as Lawrence sit's a chained man, there is no way out of their situation. Lawrence doesn't have an answer.

"I don't know, Adam. I don't know what to do," he admits defeat for the first time in a very long time.

Adam observes Nadia's unconscious figure. He watches her stomach move up and down, listens to her ragged breaths, and feels his eyes begin to water. He thinks of his run down apartment and the crumby sheets on his bed and the freezing atmosphere and the chipped walls and the dust in the corners and he remembers how the dust in the air would sparkle above his bed when the sun shone through his window, and Adam feels a lump form in his throat. He wants to go home.

Lawrence watches Adam sink to the floor and shake with silent sobs. When he feels the urge to join Adam's misery, a miracle happens. The air is filled with the ring of a cell phone brightening the space beside Lawrence.

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><p><span>Note:<span> _Reviews_ will definitely inspire me to publish the next chapter much sooner! I haven't been feeling this story. I was going to abandon it and write a new fanfiction concerning a different category, but if I get a few _reviews_ I'll continue! (:


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